ALIENS: OUT THERE

The ever-increasing number of planets being discovered around other stars solar systems raises the probability that life and even possible other civilizations exist.

Human Beings may not be the only beings in the vast universe surrounding us. In the 1960s, US astronomer Frank Drake devised a formula that calculated the number of probable alien civilizations advanced enough to send signals into space.

With billions of stars scattered in the cosmos, it is only a matter of time before we discover planets capable of supporting life.

Whether any the life on these planets would be sufficiently advanced to at least our current level or even above is another question.

As our space probes and telescopes get more sophisticated, signs of life and even civilisations may be eventually detected.

Like the ever-expanding ripples of a stone thrown into water, our planet has been leaking radio/TV waves into space for over a hundred years. Possible other civilisations within 100+ light-years of earth and at our same technological level also using radio telescopes would readily detect our artificially produced signals.

Post-1800s industrialisation, our fragile earth’s atmosphere now contains non-natural elements mainly derived from pollution. Again other advanced civilisations would have the means to detect these anomalies as we too are also beginning to analyse the atmospheres of extrasolar planets.

Written by
Peter Morton